The present invention concerns a seat, a banquette, or other seating support for a passenger transport vehicle designed to be cantilevered to a vertical support on the vehicle. The seat is attached by one of its lateral walls in order to free the space between the lower portion of the seat and the vehicle floor.
The seats conventionally used in public transportation vehicles are usually attached to the vehicle floor by means of one or more legs of various shapes and sizes depending upon the seat design. This method has numerous disadvantages.
The legs are annoying to passengers because they prevent those who are seated from extending their legs comfortably.
Additionally, if the vehicle is crowded, the central aisle, the entryways, and exits should remain as empty as possible to accommodate a large number of passengers. If the seat supports block the space beneath the seats, passengers cannot stow their packages and large suitcases there, nor can the passengers standing in the aisle slide their toes under the seats.
This type of base attaching the seat to the floor is equally problematic for workers cleaning public transportation vehicles. The legs make it necessary to work around the seat base when cleaning the vehicle floor, which limits the use of robotic cleaning apparatus. Thus, both cleaning time and costs are quite high.
The aim of the invention is to provide a seat for a public transport vehicle, such as an urban vehicle, that has a simple economical structure, allows passengers to be seated quickly and easily, and frees the space below it.
To overcome this technical problem, the seating device of the invention has a very simple structure formed of two parts:
two side pieces with vertical and horizontal branches joined by at least one connecting and reinforcing cross piece to form the seat body; and
at least one seat support covering the seat body, preferably anatomically design and covered with a layer of padding.
One of the side pieces is added and attached only by its vertical branch to a vertical structure or other element of the body of the public transportation vehicle using attachment means such as bolts.
Additionally, the width of the seat is determined only by positioning the at least one connecting and reinforcing cross piece.
The seat of the invention, held in place by a lateral attachment device, is suspended and cantilevered from the vertical element and, more generally, from the wall. Thus, the space beneath it remains completely free.
This arrangement is particularly advantageous. For example, seated passengers can extend their legs without interference from the legs of the seat in front of them.
If the vehicle is crowded, passengers can place their packages and baggage underneath the seat, freeing the aisles, the entrances, and the exits. Passengers who are standing in the aisle can also slide the tips of their feet beneath the seats.
From an esthetic point of view, the absence of legs attaching seats to the floor gives the impression of a larger interior space since there are no lines breaking the perspective.
The entire floor surface of a train car is visible in a single glance, allowing passengers to quickly determine if they have forgotten anything. During terrorist alerts, there is improved security because suspicious packages or baggage can be readily detected.
Furthermore, cleaning and maintaining the public transportation vehicle is much simpler because the entire floor is easily accessible. It is possible to use cleaning robots for quickly, efficiently and economically cleaning the vehicle floor. For example, it would be possible to use robots passing through the central aisle equipped with arms that sweep beneath the seats.
Moreover, since the structure is so simple, the unit manufacturing cost of the seat according to the invention is reduced. Installing such a seat is simple and quick.
The seat according to the present invention is modular. This makes it possible to have a single-person version, a multi-person version with side-by-side seats, and a multi-person version with suspended back-to-back seats in accordance with the invention. These variations can be achieved using a specific seat body or by simply attaching several basic units of seats, according to the invention, to one another.
Since the seat is preferably symmetrical, it can be attached to either of the interior walls of the public transportation vehicle.
The seat can be quickly and easily adapted to specific needs. For instance, if the interior of the vehicle is being refurbished or temporarily rearranged, the seat can be dismantled, resized, removed, or otherwise modified according to need. It can also easily be customized and easily recustomized. The background color can be changed quickly by replacing the seat cover.